SO, I am in the market for buying a smartphone (finally)... I have had the same flip phone for 5 years.

I have narrowed it down to two phones: The Samsung Galaxy S2 (comes out in Q3 sometime) and the HTC EVO3d (coming out sometime in the next month). Both will be available with sprint, which is what I plan on switching to (I currently have verizon, which is awesome but expensive).

Has anyone looked into either of these phones? The Galaxy 2 looks amazing, but I dunno if I want to wait a few months for it, versus the EVO 3d which will be here soon. decisions!

I seriously doubt you can go wrong with either phone really. I know the S2 is killing it in Korea right now, but the EVO 4G was a game changer and the EVO 3D will likely continue that tradition. I know that HTC will offer something that no other manufacturer can provide - HTC Sense custom UI - which is awesome (<<HTC Fanboy). You should really consider two main things:

1. How soon do you want it - EVO 3D looks like it'll be coming out next week.

2. What will you use it for - Be realistic! Many people want a phone that will do everything under the sun, but a small percent of them actually take advantage of the majority of the features (ie 3D video capture...) - I bet $$$ the old Pareto principle could easily be applied here - <20% of smart phone users use >80% of their features.

Additional criteria you may want to define (from experience) before you buy:

-Touch screen input VS keyboard - this could be the most important factor when buying a smart phone (both of those phones are touch screen only)

-Screen size VS portability - A huge screen is awesome for watching movies but you'll probably want to reconsider those skinny jeans (lol, which you should anyways)

-Battery life - In general, you'll be lucky to get through a full day of minimal usage with out having to charge once. This doesn't have to be limited to the stock battery - you could always upgrade to after market, but you better make sure that they exist first (shouldn't be a problem for either one of these phones though). Keep in mind that bigger batteries are actually physically bigger and you'll likely need to get a new back plate and case (if you can find one).

JREED wrote:I seriously doubt you can go wrong with either phone really. I know the S2 is killing it in Korea right now, but the EVO 4G was a game changer and the EVO 3D will likely continue that tradition. I know that HTC will offer something that no other manufacturer can provide - HTC Sense custom UI - which is awesome (<<HTC Fanboy). You should really consider two main things:

1. How soon do you want it - EVO 3D looks like it'll be coming out next week.

2. What will you use it for - Be realistic! Many people want a phone that will do everything under the sun, but a small percent of them actually take advantage of the majority of the features (ie 3D video capture...) - I bet $$$ the old Pareto principle could easily be applied here - <20% of smart phone users use >80% of their features.

Additional criteria you may want to define (from experience) before you buy:

-Touch screen input VS keyboard - this could be the most important factor when buying a smart phone (both of those phones are touch screen only)

-Screen size VS portability - A huge screen is awesome for watching movies but you'll probably want to reconsider those skinny jeans (lol, which you should anyways)

-Battery life - In general, you'll be lucky to get through a full day of minimal usage with out having to charge once. This doesn't have to be limited to the stock battery - you could always upgrade to after market, but you better make sure that they exist first (shouldn't be a problem for either one of these phones though). Keep in mind that bigger batteries are actually physically bigger and you'll likely need to get a new back plate and case (if you can find one).

Thanks a bunch. You help me on a bunch of issues on what to look for when looking for a smart phone. yeah, the whole "what i will use it issue" is key. for me, its probably videos (netflix), internet surfing, and taking pictures.

Yeah, i want a touch screen. a big one. So no skinny jeans for me. I kinda want it as soon as possible, so i will probably be getting the EVO3d... but if for some reason, i become patient, then i think the samsung galaxy 2... either way, both look great.

Well, JREED, I've made up my DECISION. I am taking my money down to Sprint.

I am settling on the EVO 3d. COMES OUT NEXT WEEK!!! It looks awesome. 1.2 Duo Core, 1 gig ram, HTC Sense 3.0 (which you and other's I've talked to say is very good). Although the camera is 5 megapixels, people say it is good quality. I read somewhere that people would take the Evo 3d's 5mps over many companies 8mps. Video quality for 2d is good. Also has 3d video and display. Display should be better than any other phone out there.

I would say this. If the Galaxy S2 was coming out this month for Verizon, I probably would have chosen that. However, that phone continues to get delayed for verizon with no end in sight (I hear august now). So, EVO 3d it is.

Hey, JREED, I'm thinking about getting myself HTC Wildfire S. I know it's not one of the best, but I'm not that much into mobiles anyways. I see you really know few things about them, so I was curious what do you think about it? Is it worth taking, or could I find something better in that category?

That's a difficult question for me to answer since there is a massive difference between US phone services and the rest of the world - normally I would ask you what carrier you had/wanted, but I know things are different over there. IMO the Wildfire isn't bad - mainly because it has Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), but the specs aren't very impressive - the 600MHz CPU might be a pain after a while once you get more apps operating on a regular basis. I'm not even sure how much that phone would cost over there, so I could really suggest any other phone in its price range. Maybe if you posted some other phones you are looking at, what you want to do and some other info, I could help you out a little more.

Just got the Samsung Galaxy Note II (Titanium Grey) after my old Evo 4G got ran over twice by a Crown Vic! It was perhaps a subconscious decision to allow my trusty Evo fall from my lap as I slid into he passenger seat of the massive car. I had my eyes on the Note II since August and I noticed that I was becoming increasingly careless with my obsolete handset the sooner the release date approached. The depths of my mind knew that it would take something more than just a simple drop from a sitting position or from jean-pocket height to render that tank of a phone unusable... I would like to attest to the build quality of HTC phones as that mofo still worked even though you couldn't see anything on the spider webbed screen - I would have held out for HTC "phablet", but the unknown release date and demise of my current phone forced my hand.

Let me start by saying that it is HUGE. The 5.5" screen provides a lot of real estate, but makes the Note 2 a two-handed phone. The sPen (stylus) adds additional functionality that makes using thr phone more like a regular computer - like the ability to hover over links and clickable elements just like a mouse. I'm impressed by Samsung's UI and features like the ability to use pariferals s like a use keyboard and mouse with a cheap adapter you can buy on amazon for $1.

The quad core processor and 2 gb of ram do not go unnoticed particularly by me coming from an older phone. I can have a lot of apps running in the background and still play a 3d game on max settings without any lag.

The battery life is insane. I've abused this thing all day (games, inernet, texting, etc) at work and still have plenty of life. The antenna isn't as good as the one in my evo, but I guessed it wouldn't be as it seemed to always get service where other sprint phones didn't. I also miss the Evo's keypad.

That's about it. Instesad of giving a full blown review, just ask as I know some of you are interested in picking this phone up.

Just got the Samsung Galaxy Note II (Titanium Grey) after my old Evo 4G got ran over twice by a Crown Vic! It was perhaps a subconscious decision to allow my trusty Evo fall from my lap as I slid into he passenger seat of the massive car. I had my eyes on the Note II since August and I noticed that I was becoming increasingly careless with my obsolete handset the sooner the release date approached. The depths of my mind knew that it would take something more than just a simple drop from a sitting position or from jean-pocket height to render that tank of a phone unusable... I would like to attest to the build quality of HTC phones as that mofo still worked even though you couldn't see anything on the spider webbed screen - I would have held out for HTC "phablet", but the unknown release date and demise of my current phone forced my hand.

Let me start by saying that it is HUGE. The 5.5" screen provides a lot of real estate, but makes the Note 2 a two-handed phone. The sPen (stylus) adds additional functionality that makes using thr phone more like a regular computer - like the ability to hover over links and clickable elements just like a mouse. I'm impressed by Samsung's UI and features like the ability to use pariferals s like a use keyboard and mouse with a cheap adapter you can buy on amazon for $1.

The quad core processor and 2 gb of ram do not go unnoticed particularly by me coming from an older phone. I can have a lot of apps running in the background and still play a 3d game on max settings without any lag.

The battery life is insane. I've abused this thing all day (games, inernet, texting, etc) at work and still have plenty of life. The antenna isn't as good as the one in my evo, but I guessed it wouldn't be as it seemed to always get service where other sprint phones didn't. I also miss the Evo's keypad.

That's about it. Instesad of giving a full blown review, just ask as I know some of you are interested in picking this phone up.

I currently have an EVO myself. I am also contemplating getting the note, or waiting until April and waiting for the Samsung Galaxy 4.